i believe in vitamin e
Have you ever heard that rubbing Vitamin E cream on a scar will help it fade? According to this NY Times article is doesn’t help at all and is actually an overrated remedy sometimes even making the scarring worse. But I am here to tell you that for me personally I totally believe in the power of Vitamin E! When I was a kid I had a bad accident involving a swing set pole. My grandpa was putting it together for me and I managed to run into one of the ends of one of the poles slicing my right cheek darn near off. I had to have surgery with stitches (inside and out) to put my little 3-year-old face back together again. And I had quite a scar. A deep red scar that went from my eye to my lip. But my parents were religious about keeping it slathered in Vitamin E cream all the time. For about a year all the pictures of me look like this:
And I am here to tell you that that nasty scar today looks pretty darn good! I don’t really notice it anymore because I have seen it my entire life but I would be willing to bet that most people, while they may notice it, would say it doesn’t jump right out at them. It is not red, it’s smooth and it is substantially smaller. Here I am today…..
Pretty good, no? So I am a big believer in Vitamin E cream! Do you have a natural remedy that people claim doesn’t work but you have personal proof that it does?
what can change in 90 years
Can I get a TGIF? This week flew by, seriously, how is it already Friday? But even with the holiday on Monday, I am more than ready for the weekend. This weekend should be pretty fun too because Keith and I are celebrating my Grandpa’s 90th birthday on Saturday even though TODAY is truly his birthday! So Happy Birthday Grandpa!
The party is going to be at Jann’s Art Gallery so it should be a really good time! 90 years old and he still is just as active as can be. Anyone need a racquetball partner? I am totally serious. I can’t help but to think about all the things he has seen change in his lifetime. It is amazing how quickly a city can change, technology can change, the world can change. It is pretty remarkable if you ask me.
Keith parent’s are also in town for the party and they are staying with us. In an effort to appear to be the hostess with the mostest I made cookies. I mean nothing says welcome to my home better than cookies right?
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup natural chunky peanut butter
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup chocolate chips (I used about a 1/4 cup of mini chips)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; spray two baking sheets with non-stick spray.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. In another medium bowl, with an electric mixer on high-speed, cream the butter and peanut butter. Gradually beat in the brown sugar; add the egg and vanilla, beating until fluffy. With the mixer on low-speed, gradually beat in the flour mixture until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Drop the dough by generous tablespoons onto the baking sheets, forming 12 cookies on each sheet; with back of a fork, lightly press each cookie to flatten in a checkerboard pattern. Bake until lightly browned on the bottom, 12-15 minutes. Cool completely on a rack.
Yields: 24 cookies
Happy almost weekend everyone!
double standards
So today I want to talk about double standards; not double standards between a man and a woman but specifically between yourself and other people. Many of you know that I am currently going back to school and one of the things that has been discussed is the theory that when we succeed we attribute that success to something we have done. We’ve earned it. But when we fail we attribute that failure to some other outside reason or we will blame someone else. Even if all things are held constant we will view the situation differently based on how well we perform in that situation. It also works with other people. When someone else does something really well and we do not we attribute that person’s success to luck but if the situation is reversed and we do something really well and our co-worker (or friend, or competitor) does not we attribute our success to be something we earned and we assume the other person’s failure was because they just didn’t try hard enough.
I know I do this…especially when I am competing!! Whenever I do something well I do think it is because I have worked hard and have earned it but when I get beat I will usually find some excuse as to why that person beat me. It can’t ever be because they worked hard and earned it. Crazy! Double standard number one.
What about you? Do you think this theory applies to you?
Another double standard I have recently noticed about myself is when it comes to social media and my husband. Keith has never been interested in social media until recently he decided to get a Facebook page. This was actually good because he was using mine to communicate with a lot of his friends and I kept urging him to just get his own page. He finally did and I felt myself feeling a little weird. Maybe jealous? It was surprising to me because I am not a very jealous person when it comes to my relationship with Keith. But now all the sudden he was becoming friends with people (okay let’s be real) women from his past and I was like woah…who is that, who is she, how do you know her, etc? Now I don’t know who he is talking to because he isn’t using my page anymore. It’s weird because I have plenty of male friends on FB and some I even dated and yet I don’t see anything wrong with it. I talk to guy friends on FB all the time so why then is it a problem when Keith does it? Double standard number two!
In your mind, are some things okay for you to do but not your significant other when it comes to social media?
Last one, I will be honest about my working out habits. I typically work out twice a day Monday through Friday. I know some of you are going to jump on me but I am just being real here. Then on the weekends I usually don’t work out. Sometimes I do a Saturday or Sunday workout but as of late I haven’t been. I have been taking 2 full days to recover from my 2-a-days during the week. I might do weights and then a boot camp or I might go running and then go to my boot camp class. But nevertheless I usually workout twice a day. So why then does it bother me so much when other people work out twice a day? I swear…whenever someone else tells me they do 2-a-days I get jealous or I make assumptions about how unhealthy it is. If Keith mountain bikes and lifts weight in one day I caution him and get annoyed that he is working out so much. What gives? Double standard number three.
Do you have double standards when it comes to how much you work out?
Okay those are my double standards for the day? I just painted a wonderful picture of myself didn’t I? Now who wants to be my friend?? haha! 🙂
working out with you is so much more fun
99% of the time Keith and I do not work out together. Keith’s first session at the gym starts at 5:30am every morning and I usually don’t start my workout until closer to 7:00am. He trains straight through the morning and usually gets his workout in right before lunch. So on Sunday when Keith asked me if I wanted to work out together I jumped at the chance. I like working out with him versus him training me because it is way more fun to be in pain with someone else! haha!
I asked him what we were going to do be doing and he said we were doing the “25 reps” workout! I love that workout! It is so much fun! For a shorter (30 minute) workout you pick 12-15 exercises and do 25 reps for each one. For a longer workout (60 minutes) you pick 24-25 exercises and do 25 reps for each one. I like this workout because you never do the same thing twice, it gets your heart rate up, and you push some serious weight! Below are the 25 exercies we chose but you can choose anything! It is entirely up to you. So use this one as a guide and then you can change it up to add in some of your favorites! (I will give you the weights I used…Keith did anywhere from 2x to 3x the weight I used)
Remember: everything is 25 reps
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DB Chest Press (on stability ball) (I used 20 lb DB’s in each arm)
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Diver Crunches
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Reverse Lunges (25 each leg) (I held 15 lb DB’s)
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TRX Flat Body Pulls
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Supermans
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Shoulder Push-ups
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Bicep Bar Curl (I used the 20 lb curvy bar with 5 lb plates on each side)
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TRX Mountain Climbers (50 total…25 each leg)
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Medicine Ball Squats
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Chest Flyes (on stability ball) (I used 15 lb DB’s in each arm)
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Reverse Flyes (I used 15 lb DB’s in each arm)
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Reverse Crunches
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Kettlebell Snatches (25 each arm) (I used the 18lb KB)
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Plei Squats holding 1 DB (I used a 25lb DB)
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Straight Leg Hanging Abs
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Skull Crushers (I used 15 lb DB’s in each arm)
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Bosu Lunges (25 eacg leg) (body weight)
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Atomic Pushups
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60 Second Holding Wall Squat
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Bird Dogs (25 each side)
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Bridges
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Upright Rows (I used 15 lb DB’s)
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Roll Outs
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1 DB Deadlift (I used a 30 lb DB)
And you’re D-O-N-E! Another good workout in the bag! 🙂
What Kelly Said 